Author Archives: Claire L. Evans

The Double Life of Alice B. Sheldon

Posted on January 20, 2009 by Claire L. Evans

As you may remember from a previous Space Canon entry, Alice B. Sheldon was, for a decade, the science-fiction writer James Tiptree Jr. She used the pseudonym because writing science fiction was a guilty pleasure, but also because she was … Continue reading →

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Galaxies Like Grains of Sand

Posted on January 14, 2009 by Claire L. Evans

Galaxies Like Grains of Sand is a short novel comprised of even shorter stories, presented in roughly chronological order, covering a billion year spree of humanity (I have to wonder if Brian Aldiss took a page from Olaf Stapledon’s Last … Continue reading →

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Brightness Falls From The Air

Posted on January 4, 2009 by Claire L. Evans

“Brightness falls from the air” is a line from A Litany in Time of Plague, a death-themed Elizabethan poem by Thomas Nashe: Beauty is but a flower Which wrinkes will devour; Brightness falls from the air, Queens have died young … Continue reading →

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Odd John and Sirius

Posted on December 31, 2008 by Claire L. Evans

Odd John and Sirius are two novels by Olaf Stapledon, paired together in a dual edition. This is not a thoughtless choice, as both novels are explorations of the same idea, manifested slightly differently: what happens when a superhuman intelligence … Continue reading →

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Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep?

Posted on November 9, 2008 by Claire L. Evans

This is the deal: it’s impossible for me to separate Phililp K. Dick’s Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? from its film adaptation, Blade Runner. This is because I’ve seen Blade Runner approximately 4,000 times, and because my science fiction-obsessed … Continue reading →

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The Santaroga Barrier

Posted on October 27, 2008 by Claire L. Evans

Frank Herbert is one of my heroes, for a number of reasons: his incredible commitment to portraying the whole ecology of a fictional environment, his sly allusions to philosophy, the overwhelming headiness of his work, his Northwest roots. This devotion, … Continue reading →

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The Ice People

Posted on October 20, 2008 by Claire L. Evans

The Ice People is a lesser-known French science fiction novel by René Barjavel. In French, it is known by the more nuanced title, La Nuit Des Temps (the Night of Time). I chose it primarily because I was bewitched by … Continue reading →

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A Friendly Reminder

Posted on October 18, 2008 by Claire L. Evans
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Quark #1

Posted on October 13, 2008 by Claire L. Evans

As far as science fiction anthologies go, Quark #1 is weird. Co-edited in the early 70s by the poet Marilyn Hacker and Samuel Delany (who were married at the time, but have long since separated and both self-identified as homosexual), … Continue reading →

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War With The Newts

Posted on October 1, 2008 by Claire L. Evans

SpaceCanon: I wanted to talk to you about War with the Newts Evan: Oh yea! I love that book SpaceCanon: yeah man me too Evan: In addition to many other things, I feel like it is the missing link between … Continue reading →

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